Anjum Anand is, in my opinion, the Nigella of British-Indian cuisine. And I have been following her closely for quite a few years now. Her recipes are simple and light, yet completely authentic Indian in taste. And who says we have to spend hours in the kitchen to eat exotic?

One of my favorite recipes of Anjum’s is her Savoury Semolina Cake. With lots of vegetables and mildly spiced, it perfectly complements a cup of tea, or as a starter for any dinner party. Vegetarians or non-vegetarians alike will absolutely lick their fingers :)

A blend of semolina (suji), vegetables and yogurt, it can easily pass as a vegan meatloaf of sorts.

Now, both M and I love to sit down in the evening with a cuppa tea and something nice and light. We chomp on the savoury tit-bits, and watch the world go by, the neighborhood kids run around, the ladies giggle and the dogs scamper. People bond over music, people bond over drinks – we bond over the shared evening cuppa. And that is where this recipe comes into the picture. Not much prep to do, leaves enough time for togetherness…

Who can say they have never been seduced by the red freshness and plump juiciness?

Look at that!

Absolute poetry.

Absolute love.

Absolute lust.

And I rediscovered this aphrodisiac over the weekend when I saw a recipe on foodgawker.com. And it struck me – What a perfect way to pamper my M, especially with the one-year-long-distance-heartache that is about to follow in a few months. I have decided it will be weekend-after-weekend of culinary pleasure for my better half in the coming weeks.

The recipe I am going to post now is phase-1. :) I adapted the ingredients and steps from ShootsAndRoots.

Pre-Valentine’s Day Strawberry Cake (Tried and Tested!):

Ingredients:

It cannot get simpler than this. One of the easiest and quickest cakes I have ever baked. Trust me!

1/4 cup canola or plain vegetable oil

1 cup plain flour (maida) – not self rising, just all-purpose.

1 and 1/2 full teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon white vinegar or white wine vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup milk

250 grams strawberries, cut into quarters

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Mix the egg, milk, vinegar and oil in a big bowl.

Add the sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well.

Add the flour and baking powder, and mix well with a whisk till smooth.

Pour the batter into a round baking dish, which has been buttered or oiled a bit on the sides and bottom to prevent the cake from sticking. I ended up using a pie-pan. It looked cuter in it :)

Now mix one tablespoon sugar with the quartered strawberries. Arrange the strawberries on the top of the batter, pushing each piece of strawberry in a bit into the batter.

Bake it in the oven at 180 degrees for 60 minutes or till the cake is done and a fork inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

The consistency is just right – light and crumbly and moist-jammy when you hit a strawberry. Beautiful and easy to make. I am going to bake it when I have guests coming over next for sure.

What happens when you want a big, juicy slice of pizza, fresh out of the oven, warm and inviting? Before you answer that, imagine that you are on a D_I_E_T. Just imagine.

:(

That is usually how I look when I want to bite into one and can’t. Especially with M checking on me every now and then. He is a very involved partner, yes he is.

But what happened the other day was quite interesting. My mum was a-visiting, which usually means lots of food and pampering and travelling and visiting families and friends and shopping and.. phew! You get the idea. But when mum comes down, she hates it when we order take-away. She just wont take it. No way. How can you eat that junk? Why not make it at home? Why spend for something will turn out yummier if made at home? With love? And dedication? And fresh ingredients?

I gave up. I had to take matter into my own hands now. And decided that, for a change, even with mommy in town, I will cook. I will break into her holy sanctum and make a mess and cook up a storm.

And that brings us back to – What happens when you want a big, juicy slice of pizza, fresh out of the oven, warm and inviting? AND mum is home?

Anyways, I have always been a great fan of bell-peppers. Red, yellow, green.. sometimes orange.. they make any dish bright, zingy and add tremendous flavor. Fry them, steam them, saute them, grill them, stuff them – versatility, thy last name is bell-pepper. Or wait, is it bell-pepper, thy last name is..?

Umm never mind.

The point I am trying to make is that are just simply awesome. My mum used to stuff them with paneer (cottage cheese) for a healthy vegan kick, or grill them with chicken for the days when we kids needed something non-veg.

However, I am going to post a recipe – a two-in-one recipe – which is my sister’s contribution. Its a warm salad, with tri-colored bell-peppers and onions, and for protein either shredded leftover grilled/boiled chicken or crumbled fresh paneer. You could also used feta cheese. It goes great anything.

Here it is now, my warm bell-pepper salad with chicken/paneer.

Warm Tri-Pepper Salad With Chicken Or Paneer (serves 2 to 3 people):

Ingredients

1 green bell-pepper, sliced into long thin strips

1 yellow bell-pepper, sliced into long thin strips

1 red bell-pepper, sliced into long thin strips

1 large onion, sliced

1 full tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon coriander or parsley, chopped fine

Salt and pepper-powder (both black or white pepper can be used)

For non-vegetarian version, 2 about 300 grams of grilled or boiled shredded chicken. You could buy boneless chicken breasts, cut them into small bite size chunks, and saute them in 1 teaspoon of oil, 2 tablespoons of pepper and salt to taste.

For vegetarian version, 200-300 grams of paneer (cottage cheese), cut into chunks and slightly browned in a frying pan in 1 teaspoon of oil, pepper and salt, or alternately, just fresh home-made cottage cheese crumbled into bits.

About 2 tablespoons of grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Procedure

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add 1 teaspoon pepper powder and a pinch of salt. Add the onions and saute till translucent.

Now add the three types of sliced bell-peppers/capsicum. Mix well and cover with a lid – let it heat up and cook till the bell-pepper slices soften.

Remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, add the cooked bell-peppers and chicken or paneer, whichever you are using.

Add salt and lots of black or white pepper powder. Mix well.

Now sprinkle coriander/parsley and grated cheddar cheese on top.

Serve warm.

The capsicum/bell-peppers along with the pepper powder is also a great salad in itself. But of course, a bit of chicken and cheese never hurts. :)

Its a drag to cook on certain days. Yes, even for a foodie like me. Socializing, office, phone calls, more socializing – tends to sap out all energy from a person. And yet, come dinnertime, who wants to compromise?

Not me, no siree. I want something yummy every single day. And a recent spat of requests to post salad-recipes inspired me tonight.

Now when I talk of a salad, the first thing that comes to my mind is – of course – EGGS! Boiled, scrambled, poached, fried: whatever be the way, eggs never fail me. My comfort food, my soul food. And a creamy egg salad is on the top of my list of all-time favorites.

However, what I am posting now is a healthy(ier) version of a creamy egg salad. Crunchy and creamy at the same time, all you need is a slice of toast to complete your meal.

Creamy Crunchy Egg Salad:

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 small boiled eggs – I like hard boiled, but even soft boiled is perfect.

Yes I did! It was a couple of weeks back, on a nice sunny warm day. I was reading a book based on the middle east and as I got more & more engrossed in the story, the sultry afternoon almost smelled of middle eastern glory. And so, when hunger struck, what better than hummus and pita?

For a change I wanted to make this simple but tasty dish at home. “Google”ing around, looking at those lovely pictures of freshly baked pita pockets served with home made hummus, I just wanted to make some right away, easy or not!

I found some easy looking recipes here and here. However, I did not have any tahini with me (for the hummus) and so I had to locate an easy quick recipe for that as well, which I found here. Being an Indian, however, I had to spice up the hummus a wee bit, and I hope no one will complain because according to me, that complements the freshness of the chickpeas perfectly.

After over an hour (maybe 2 hours?) of fiddling in the kitchen, ignoring M’s cries of “Lets just get some pizza, shall we?”, I finally managed to get this out on the dining table:

As you can see, not all my pita breads had pockets, but the taste was just perfect. maybe I rolled then out too thick!

I still can’t believe that I made it all, from scratch, with my own two hands, in my kitchen. Serious goodness.

So here’s my version of Hummus & Pita… Hope you enjoy it as much as M and I did.

Homemade Spiced Hummus & Freshly Baked Pita:

Ingredients:

For Tahini ~

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons water

For Hummus ~

1 cup of chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled till just done. Or you can use same quantity of canned chickpeas

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon tahini

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tablespoon cumin

1/4 tablespoon fresh chopped green chilly

Salt to taste

2-3 tablespoons water

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for serving

For Pita Pockets ~

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 tablespoon honey

2/3 cup warm water

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

For Tahini ~

Place sesame seeds a blender or food processor and grind until smooth. Add sesame oil and salt. Process until combined. With the motor running, add the water in very slowly and blend until smooth.

For Hummus ~

Combine all ingredients (except water) in a blender or food processor.

Then add the water. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and drizzle a small amount of extra virgin olive oil on top.

For Pita Pockets ~

Dissolve yeast in 1 tablespoon warm water. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until yeast is well blended.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Then pour yeast, water & olive oil and mix with a spoon.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded. If it is too sticky or too dry, add in flour or water (respectively) one teaspoon at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.

Coat large bowl with olive oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated with the oil.

Allow to sit in a warm place covered for about 1 hour or more, until it has doubled (almost!) in size.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 5-6 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 260 deg C.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

Bake each circle for 4 minutes or until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 more minutes.

I am going to make it again soon. It was such a good light lunch to have! And healthy too.

Come Friday and M & I want to gorge on something yummy to satiate the tummy.

Eeeeeeks!

Let me start again. M & I always need good food. The need is stronger come weekend. So one Friday, as we pondered over the menu for the next couple of days, M said he wanted a one-bowl-dish: preferably vegetarian. I mentioned egg fried rice – which lead to a serious soul-searching discussion on eggs.

So is egg vegetarian or non-vegetarian? I have seen hardcore ‘vegetarian’ people gorging on eggs in the form of store bought cakes, breads and what not… even an odd omelette once in a while. Now I do not see them downing bucket fulls of fried chicken, do I. But yes, eggs they do. I rest my case.

So here’s what we had for our “vegetarian lunch” (and forced M into accepting as a ‘veggie dish’ even though I saw him mouthing “No Way” when I was not looking… I know you! ;) )

Egg Fried Rice with a side of Eggs in Tomato-Pepper Sauce:

Ingredients:

As many eggs as you want! I used 3 for the fried rice (whole), and 2 for the eggs in tomato-pepper sauce (boiled).

Ground pepper, about 2 teaspoons.

Garlic cloves, 2-3 cloves minced.

Ginger, about half an inch, minced.

French beans, half a cup chopped up fine.

Carrots, half a cup chopped.

2-3 cups cooked rice – preferably cooled down for about an hour before using, or even refrigerated leftover rice.

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce.

1 large onion, sliced up fine.

1 large tomato, chopped.

Little bit of finely chopped fresh coriander.

Teaspoon of sugar.

Procedure:

For the Fried Rice…

In a wok, heat some oil. Fry the ginger and garlic in it till golden. Then add the chopped beans and carrots & fry over high heat till cooked through but crunchy.

Break the eggs into the wok, and scramble. Add ground pepper.

Add the cooked rice. Add salt and soy sauce (make sure that you add just enough salt – the soy can be very salty too). Mix well and heat through for about 3-5 minutes.